


ocean eyes

by KeelaFairie (orphan_account)



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Mermaids, Angst, Bubbline, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Slow Burn, marceline is a siren, mermaid au, rating might change if it gets too violent, siren au, siren!marceline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-07 22:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20983670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/KeelaFairie
Summary: "The mermaid whom has fallen for a human always comes to land. That is part of their inherent nature. For a mermaid that can only love once in her lifetime, she stakes her whole life on that one love."





	1. the voice

**Author's Note:**

> Soooooo I have returned from the hell that is college with yet another mermaid au, this time for my latest OTP! I've only been able to find a single mermaid au for this ship so far, and me being me I could NOT let that stand. So, here it is. A mermaid/siren au. Pls note that I wrote most of this chapter in a sleep-deprived state and haven't yet gone through and edited it :D

**thursday night, september 27th - friday, september 28th**  


**The path that led to the beach was overgrown.** Emerald green lacing over the sandy ground and often cutting through the already small walkway. It was a small, quiet place. One that Bonnibel found herself visiting quite often.

She had first discovered the hidden beach when she was a small child. Coming across the hidden path and the abandoned fishing shack at the end one day while playing hide and seek with two boys whom lived across the street from her.

The abandoned building had become her own secret place. A safe haven, a world of magic and filled with the wonders of the ocean.

In the middle of the night, she'd found that the sand lit up in bioluminescent light wherever you happened to step, the soft glow resembling the countless stars that dotted the sky and reflected against the blue ocean water.

There was a fishing dock just down the beach from the overgrown shack, the boards having been rotted through and bordered on collapsing for who knows how long, and may have already given in to the test of time if not for the jagged bits of barnacle-covered stone that had been used as a base for the wood. The only time the rocks were visible was when the tide set out, revealing the starfish that slept at the base of the formation and the anemones that had made their homes in the leftover tidal pools.

Bonnibel made her way to the dock, slipping off her sandals and letting her calloused feet climb onto the smooth, damp wood. Worn away from countless storms and the waves that relentlessly crashed on windy days.

The air felt different for some reason.

It was always like this on a full moon.

The only light was from the bioluminescent algae and the nearby neighborhood. The moon and stars combating the darkness in a simple serenity.

It never took long for her eyes to adjust. The darkness around her had become comforting to her over the years.

Everything here was familiar. Peaceful.

So when she saw a figure in the water, resting on one of the rocks that jutted out above the wavebreak, Bonnibel was confused to say the least.

Then, the singing started.

It was as if all rationality had left her body, her thought process replaced with a simple pull, caressing her thoughts and slowly dragging her into an endless trance.

She slowly made her way to the end of the dock, where the planks had patches of algae and the slick surface of salty water from the constant presence of the sea.

Everything else faded away. It was all a blur of nothingness. She needed the ocean.

The water was cold when she fell into its embrace. The sudden silence filling her with fear and jolting her back to reality.

Her limbs were like ice, hot white pain shooting through every bit of her being.

Why was she in the water?

Why would she have been so idiotic?

She lived on the northern west coast, by an ocean so cold that no sane person would go in without a wetsuit. So why had she just gone in so willingly?

It took several seconds for Bonnibel to realize what was happening, as the currents began to gently pull her deeper and further from the familiar shore. By the time Bonnie began to swim, the current had her in its tight embrace, never mind the fact that the icy water made it difficult to move properly.

Her lungs burned, and the salt stung her eyes. Everything was blurry, nothing but fear and panic surrounding her.

She was going to die, in the very place that she had loved so dearly.

Then, she felt two arms snake gracefully under her shoulders, wrapping around her torso and holding her softly. She felt herself being raised upwards, but she didn't have the energy to care. Her vision was fading, the burning in her chest grew.

All that she could remember was the sudden rush of cold air surrounding her as everything faded to a cold, unforgiving white.  


**• • •**

Bonnibel was awoken to the sudden icy presence of water lapping at her feet, and the persistant burning of salt in her throat. She managed a sharp inhale, before finding herself rolling onto her side and coughing up a stream of seawater.

Her mind was fuzzy as she forced herself to her feet, the unstable sand sticking to her clothes and tangling in her dyed pink hair, changing the color to a dusty caked red.

Still, she was left simply staring at the ocean.

No fear, no distaste.

A simple newfound wonder.

There had been someone — some_thing_. A creature in the water

Bonnibel was only concerned that she didn't know what.

A small glimmer caught in the corner of her eye. The fading moonlight had illuminated the presence of a single gem. Bonnibel carefully picked up the pearl. A small bead of glimmering black against the moonlight.

The girl took one last glance at the still, peaceful waters.

The melody she had heard echoed in her head, sending her promises of freedom, beauty, love, wealth. Everything anyone would ever want or need.

Bonnie would return. Inevitably. She always did, whether others realized or not. The beach was her safe haven, she simply needed to discover whatever the thing was that may have taken it away.  


**• • •**

School that morning was torture. The usual walk to the town's only high school was colder than usual for this time of year, the coffee she held doing little to fend off the harsh ocean winds that cut through her thin sweatshirt until she made it to the small, rundown building.

Her first class passed at an achingly slow pace, the only person she knew being a small korean freshman who went by Bea. Bonnie had basically become friends with them by default due to the younger student being friends with Finn and Jake. The fact that Bea had somehow made their way into 10th grade computer science their freshman year still shocked her, but she was thankful for knowing at least one person in her first class of the day.

She didn't have another class with anyone she knew until fourth period, chemistry.

Her head hurt relentlessly, with the same cruel melody playing consistently on repeat.

"Bubblegum? Hey, you alive in there?" a voice called out, snapping the girl from her train of thought.

"Oh, yeah. Just thinking."

The boy sitting across from her — Finn — looked at her skeptically before returning to his own paper. Or, at least, pretending to. His pencil hadn't moved from it's position above the fourth chemistry equation.

"You know, if you need help all you have to do is ask," Bonnie laughed, casually sliding over her paper. Normally she would explain the steps and force him to do it himself, but Bonnie's mind was elsewhere. She didn't think she'd be able to fully explain the calculations even if she tried.

Finn seemed relieved, at least. Hastily copying down the older girl's work.

Bonnibel reached a hand into her jean's pocket, her fingers carefully tracing around the shape of the single black pearl that resided inside.

_It was a coincidence, _she kept telling herself, _fairy tales are fiction._

The melody repeated itself in her head.

Bonnie quickly finished off the last problem on her worksheet and turned it in to her teacher — a kind older man that most of the students preferred addressing as Simon, opposed to his last name Petrikov. The teacher didn't mind, instead seeming to encourage it with excuses like "Petrikov is too complicated to pronounce" or "people easily forget names, Simon is basic enough to at least recognize".

"Are you sure you're okay?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, just a headache."

The lie danced on her tongue.

She had a feeling that the melody wasn't going to leave her any time soon.

**• • •**

Bonnie stared down at the piano keys, her lunch sat to the side on the choir bleachers with Finn, Jake, and Bea, long forgotten.

The music building was small, tucked away in the far corner of school property just past the gym. It consisted of one set of outdated bleachers, an out-of-tune piano, and a small locker room for orchestra and band students to store their instruments throughout the day.

"You're doing it again, Bonnie," Bea suddenly spoke.

"Doing what?"

"Zoning out as if you're contemplating existence itself."

Bonnibel didn't have a good response for that, instead simply nodding at their words and turning back to the piano.

"I've just had this stupid song stuck in my head all day. It's getting kind of annoying to be honest," she admitted, "it'll be gone soon enough."  


**• • •**  
  


The song didn't leave her mind.

By the time school let out for the weekend, Bonnie thought she'd gone insane. The walk home was agonizing, exhaustion pulling at her. She hastily dropped her backpack off at her house before following the hidden path down to the beach.

The sun was still high in the sky, and the rocks she had seen the figure on was still completely uncovered by the sea water. High tide was still several hours away.

Normally she would've gone back to the house, opened a book, and finished off her mountain of AP homework. Normally she would've just dismissed what had happened as a product of sleep deprivation.

But for some reason she couldn't find any reason to do any of those things.

She made her way to the edge of the dock, lowering herself to the cool surface of the wood. She'd left her sandals back on the beach, seeing no use in wearing them on the weathered dock. Bonnie had no idea how long she'd sat there, just waiting.

Staring out to sea in hopes of something, _anything_ happening.

At some point she must've dozed off, leaning against one of the dock's support poles and forcing herself into oblivion. It was dark when she regained consciousness, and she was vaguely aware of the cold sensation of water now reaching her feet from where they hung over the edge of the wood. Bioluminescent algae could be seen in several small patches across the dark water, sending a soft glow throughout the emptiness.

It was then that she saw movement in the water. A simple ripple far off among the rocks.

Bonnibel simply stared, her eyes straining against the darkness. The blurred figure fading in and out of her line of sight. The figure rose onto the rock.

Pale skin, long dark hair.

The pearl in her pocket suddenly seemed to weigh a million pounds, dragging her down towards the murky water.

Then, the singing began.

Her pounding in her head seemed to mute, instead being filled with an eerie calm.

She didn't know how long she sat there, simply listening. She wasn't sure when the figure left, when the moon soon left the sky, replaced with the darkness of rain clouds. It was only when the water began falling from the sky that she stood, making her way through the darkness and home.

The weight of the pearl that rested on her pocket haunted her for the rest of the night.


	2. in too deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie searches for an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, look at that. the procrastination monster strikes again. enjoy the chapter uwu.

**Saturday, October 5th**

**The sky was overcast, **the scent of rain and salt heavy in the air as the water beneath the boat steadily became more and more rapid and choppy.

The small vial of saltwater threatened to spill as Bonnibel carefully inserted a hydrometer, letting it sit as the readings slowly evened out. She recorded the results on her lab sheet, right next to where she had already written the pH levels.

The only other person in the boat's cabin was Simon, whom had taken a seat at the long bench that ran alongside the windows.

If it were possible for something to be a reverse tardis, smaller on the inside and bigger on the outside, Bonnie was sure it would be the old boat that the local community college owned. How the poorly funded school could afford something like this, Bonnie had no clue. It was nice for them to let the high school borrow it for the occasional field trip though.

Even from inside the cabin Bonnie could hear the headache-inducing shouts from outside.

A pod of dolphins had come across the ship not long ago, and for the past ten minutes the rest of the class had decided to ditch their original assignment in favor of watching the friendly mammals jump and play amongst the rough waves.

They'd be begging to copy off of Bonnie's data later. She didn't mind that much anymore, as long as she was able to complete the labs without people constantly bugging her and making lame jokes.

Hastily pouring the water samples and cleaning up the lab equipment, Bonnie turned to face Simon, who had busied himself with grading that week's homework papers.

"Uhm, hey, Simon. I have a question."

The teacher looked up, his typical friendly grin inviting her to continue her statement.

"Have there ever been any instances where manatees make their way to this area?" she questioned, grabbing a small stack of paper towels and proceeding to dry off the glass beakers and slip them back into their places in the boat's cabinets.

"I haven't heard of it happening recently," Simon admitted. Bonnibel tried to ignore the curiosity that filled his eye, "there was a situation maybe ten years ago when a dead one had been found washed ashore near Ooo University. They're warm water mammals, they can't survive here for long before freezing to death."

Bonnie nodded, "I figured."

"If you think you might've seen one, it's quite possible that it was a seal. Every so often one appears with lighter skin. From a distance it could be easily mistaken for a manatee."

Bonnibel nodded, "Right. I was just wondering."

There was a shout from the ladder that led up to the pilot house, and Simon's wife —Betty — appeared.

The woman had a habit of tagging along on every excursion her husband planned. Bonnibel honestly thought that it was because she was the only one out of the two who knew how to actually drive the old research boat. While Simon has multiple degrees in aquatic sciences and was a genius when it came to anything that resided in (or on) the water, he always seemed to fare better away from the wheel.

Perhaps it was the fact that, if he by any chance screwed up and sunk the boat, he'd have hell to deal with and would never be able to conduct any of his beloved field trips again.

"Hey, it's almost four, we should probably start heading back to the docks if we want to make it back by five," Betty said, flashing a quick smile to Bonnibel as the teen finished packing up the lab equipment and excusing herself out to the deck. The rest of their conversation was muffled by the glass sliding door.

At some point while Bonnie was cleaning up it had started raining, and so the girl quickly pulled on the hood of her windbreaker and went to join one of the girls who was — thankfully — not shouting at the dolphins whom had made the wise decision to stay as far away from the side of the boat as possible.

The girl — Lady — smiled at the pinkette as she approached, "Having fun in the lab without us?"

"As much as I could will the faulty equipment."

"Did the salinity thing break again?"

"According to the original readings, the salinity was at an all-time record with 328 ppt!"

Lady laughed at that, "Which means?"

"Basically it's more salty than the Dead Sea."

"Nice to know that everything's going to be dead soon."

Bonnibel laughed at that, tearing her gaze away from the korean girl and looking out over the water. Drowning out the chaotic sounds of Finn and Jake, who were currently playing some game that had to do with seeing who could lure catch a seagull first with the bits of crumbs and candy they found in their bags and pockets.

The ocean was so different when you were away from shore. The water was endless, stretching off into the horizon for as far as the eye could see. The cold breeze cut through her skin, promising the soon approach of winter that would undoubtably hit and promise a marathon of blankets, hot chocolate (with sprinkles), and studying.

She found her mind drifting yet again to the melody.

The figure she'd seen was a seal, it had to have been. There was no other explanation, unless she'd finally gone insane and started hallucinating about mythical creatures.

A mermaid? Really? What was she, an old drunk sailor daydreaming about girls after being on a ship for six months?

Mermaids didn't exist. She was being irrational, her mind jumping to silly fairy tales with little to no truth written between the lines. If she went back tonight...

No. That wouldn't work. In what universe would a wild animal decide to frequent the same spot at a convenient time to meet with a human?

"You've been zoning out a lot lately," Lady spoke, bringing Bonnibel back to reality.

"Ha, yeah," Bonnie mumbled in reply. Her gaze still flickering out over the waves.

"Hey, the winds are picking up, and Simon will probably want us back in the cabin to go over the lesson before we return to shore. You know, the stupid conclusion paper and all that jazz?"

Bonnie begrudgingly agreed, tearing herself away from the railing and heading to the small crowd of students filing into the cabin as the rain began to pick up.

"Why is it always like this here?" Bonnie heard Finn complaining as he took off his white hat for the first time in who knows how long, glaring at it had become soaked with sea spray.

"Maybe it wouldn't be like that if you and Jake hadn't been tormenting the seagulls," Lady replied, taking the seat next to Jake.

As expected, Simon passed out a worksheet for the end of the lab, and Bonnibel quickly filled it out and turned it in before the rest of the class, taking a seat beside the window and staring out at the sea. The rest of the boat ride dragged on in a boring haze.

She couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when they docked and she began the walk home.

Her house was small, tucked away at the end of a small beachside cul-de-sac, filled with houses that resembled what Bonnie liked to think of as cottages. She was hit with a warm gust of air when she entered, and she could smell the presence of food that her uncle Pepper was cooking in the kitchen.

She called out a quick greeting before making her way upstairs, passing by her brother's room and entering the bedroom at the far end of the hall that belonged to her.

Out of every room in their house, Bonnibel wouldn't be surprised if she had the smallest. She didn't particularly care, though. It was a pretty room, and she had taken the time to customize it to fit her favorite aesthetic. The walls were a light peach color, her bedspread and all furniture white, with every small appliance a light rose gold.

Stereotypical white girl? Maybe. Did she care? Heck no.

Pink was the best color as far as she was concerned. Who cared if it made her look like a bubblegum-ified version of Sharpay from that Disney movie.

Her favorite part of her room was by far her bed, and in turn the window that resided on its right. She could see the ocean, stretching out from behind the treetops and continuing for miles and miles on end.

She pulled her laptop up from on her pillow and opened it, revealing the page she had been looking at before she left for the lab that morning.

Mermaids.

She bit her lip, scrolling through the page once more. This was stupid, she knew. She wasn't five. But if you were to take away the "part-fish-part-mammal" section of the fairy stories, and instead looked at what it would be like if they were instead similar to a dolphin or whale...

No. Heck no. She wasn't going down that rabbit hole, she was _not_ going to grasp at small strings and turn into a conspiracy theorist.

Still... humans developed on land, who was to say that intelligent life couldn't develop in the sea, where life began in the first place?

Bonnibel clicked out of the window just as she heard Pepper calling for dinner.

She slammed the laptop shut.

She was not going to stress over this.

Bonnibel left her room, pushing the thought of mermaids and aquatic creatures to the back of her mind.

She was not going to chase a fairy tale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls excuse any typos, as i haven’t had the chance to edit it yet <3


	3. siren

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the new moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> t/w- graphic depictions of violence

**october 13th**

**The ocean was cold here.** A comforting sensation of icy pain shot through her limbs at every movement, giving her the sensation of a life grasping at strings in hopes of surviving.

At least, that's how Marceline imagined it would feel. The deep water was just that. Cold.

Light was rare in this part of the sea, with clouds blocking off the sunlight most days and hiding the stars almost every night. It was a sad, dreary place Marceline had decided. Not worth her time to stay longer than necessary.

It was particularly dark this certain night, with the moon bleak and missing from the sky above. The ocean was hurting, she could feel it. The currents were restless, begging and pleading for her to hurry and put a stop to their pain.

And so, she answered the Ocean's plea.

The pale girl pushed her thin body from its position on the sea floor; dark, iridescent scales flickering with the few rays of light that managed to filter into the ocean. She had to find someone.

Tracking down a human was never hard. And at this time of night no human in their right mind would be out. The moon's silhouette was far past high, and Marceline could tell that it would only be a few more hours until the sun replaced the gentle glow of stars.

The water was always so pretty at night, with darkness engulfing the once chaotic sea with a cloak of mystery. There could be something hiding in any one of the rocks or alcoves, but she would never know.

She loved the way the surface of the sea reflected in her eyes, how the light would form a gentle blue ray that fish would swim through carelessly. How the seaweed forests held mysteries that no human could ever seem to find. It was fun to watch divers try to maneuver the confusing labyrinths before giving up and returning to the surface.

The ocean was beautiful, breathtaking, life-giving...

Which was why people had to die.

The dock was full of fishing boats, nets folded up carefully and tucked away in their respective places, with the usually busy port replaced with a serene silence.

A silence that was broken by the fumbling words of a man. Marceline could smell the alcohol from her position past the dock.

She wasted no time in starting.

Her song started as a gentle hum, simply enough to alert the human of her presence.

He looked her way, confusion evident on his bearded face, he locked his focus on her, and she could see the look of wonder that possessed him.

She slowly approached the dock as he drunkenly stumbled towards her. It was quite amusing, seeing a human act like this. Especially considering it'd be dead soon.

Every living being had a purpose in this world. His just happened to be a simple sacrifice.

It occurred to her that once, a long time ago, she would've been horrified by the thoughts that went through her mind. But she was numb to it at this point.

In the beginning, she had quickly sung a simple melody, killing her victims as quickly as possible to end their suffering. Though now she realized it was much more effective to slowly, deliberately enchant the being, coax them into believing they were safe so that they'd die happily, oblivious to the fear that came with the ending of their life.

She placed a hand onto the dry, cold wood, expertly pulling herself up and folding her arms to rest on the side of the dock.

Then, she sung the words.

"_Go down to the ocean,_  
_the crystal tide is rising,_  
_the water's gotten higher_  
_as the shore washes out..._"

The human crouched down beside her, leaning so close that she could feel his sticky, humid breath on her cheek. She smiled, which he returned without a second thought.

Humans really were stupid, to be enchanted by a silly child's lullaby.

She reached a hand out, placing a hand on the rim of his shirt, casually pulling him closer as she carefully let herself slowly sink back into the ocean.

"_The moon controls the tide,_  
**_it could cause you to drown._**"

As soon as he hit the water, Marceline smirked.

Humans really were pathetic.

With one quick flip of her tail, the two of them quickly shot downwards, further and further out to sea before the spell could break.

When she deemed that they were far enough out, she slammed the human into the sand, letting the air rush out of his lungs. He closed his eyes, and Marceline could tell that he was waking up.

She simply hummed, enough to weaken his limbs, to let the struggle drain out of him.

Marceline pressed down harder on his lungs, feeling the presence of blood beginning to seal through his ratty t-shirt. The metallic scent filled the water. She could already feel the steady return of calm to the waters around her.

She slowly closed her hand into a fist, bunching up torn skin under her nails as the dying cella's began dissolving into the salty foam, rising to the surface of the cold water.

The scent of blood seemed to fill her senses, an overwhelming presence of hunger that she finally allowed herself to give in to. The long beard blocked his neck off, and so Marceline carefully began to peal the skin away from us chin, allowing full exposure of the humans greasy, disgusting neck.

Marceline bit down, allowing her teeth to sink into the man's flesh, his blood sliding down her throat and fully satisfying the hunger that had been gnawing at her for the past week.

She gently let her body rise, looking down at the pale, mangled corpse. She could see his limbs starting to fade, the current cutting through and spreading the newly formed sand up and away.

His t-shirt was caught in the current, being lifted away from the pile of sand that once held the man.

The current tugged at her, swirling around the siren as if trying to tell her something.

And so, Marceline followed the ocean's call.

It brought her upwards, towards the shore, where the sand sloped upwards to the rocks that dotted the sand.

She became cautious as she realized where the currents had led her.

Marceline pulled herself onto the smooth, weathered down rock she had been using as a post for several nights that month.

There was the beach. The one with the old shack and fishing dock.

But the girl wasn't there.

It was to be expected, Marceline told herself. It was early. She herself could see how the light began to peak out over the sea, illuminating the surface of the water with a golden sheen.

Still, the girl fascinated Marceline. And it killed her that she had no idea why.

The human girl had pink hair. Humans weren't supposed to have pink hair, it wasn't natural. Just like how sirens had lost the ability to feel certain human emotions. Lust, greed, gluttony, etc.

They didn't benefit the ocean or themselves in any way. Why would she ever have a need for those burdensome emotions.

Heck, she'd been alive — traversing the oceans — for nearly a thousand years now. Emotions were for humans. But then... there was still a month before she had to be in a new place, at a new coastal city.

She had a month, it wouldn't hurt...

Marceline pushed herself off of the rock, letting her body slide gracefully back into the water. She began swimming carefully to the beach.

The siren hadn't done this in years. Not since that one sailor had somehow managed to convince her he was trustworthy. His blood had stained the sand, too far away for the ocean to reach even at high tide. It was a wasted life, lost carelessly in greed.

But that was five hundred years ago, who knows how much human kind could've changed since then.

Her hand reached out to grab the edge of the old dock, and she pulled her body up and onto its smooth surface. As her tail left the grasp of the water, she found herself filled with a strange feeling. What was it... fear? That would make sense. Without the water feeding her power, she would essentially end up as mortal and magic-less as a mere human.

The change was surprisingly simple, her tail splitting into halves that took the form of long, thin legs.

It would only be for a few minutes. She'd be back in the sea before the sun could fully rise.

Standing proved to be quite difficult. Her muscles ached from centuries of misuse.

Each step was painful, but she continued anyway. The sheltered path proved to be a simple lead on where to go. The first house she came across was blocked off by a tall, wooden fence that was covered to the brim in vines and wilted flowers.

She could tell that the human she'd been seeing was close, with the familiar presence located closely above her. Marceline spotted a window, and in it the figure of a sleeping human.

So that was where the girl went when she left.

Marceline pried her gaze from the human, beginning her walk back to the beach. The sun was beginning to cast a haze of blue morning light over the land. It would be better for her to return to the sea.

Still, throughout her entire swim back to the depths, Marceline found herself unable to shake the thought of the human from her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look, two chapters in one day because i have no self control. i know that the song everything stays doesn’t really have the sound of a siren song, but the lyrics of the second verse are so fitting that i had to use them :D


	4. a life stolen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A man goes missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @ the ppl commenting. yall are amazing. i love you. thank you for giving my life meaning uwu

**october 15th**  


When Bonnibel walked into school Tuesday morning, she was surprised at how everyone seemed to be sorted into groups, hushed whispers drifting amongst the students as they procrastinated returning to class. She made her way to the library, slipping in and heading to the back corner where a single circular table was set up, surrounded by her group of friends.

Finn was silent. The talkative, overly-excitable boy was quiet. That never happened.

"Hey, what happened? Everyone is acting all suspicious in the halls," she asked, setting her back down beside the chair.

Jake bit his lip, placing a comforting hand on Finn's shoulder before replying, "You know Martin Mertens? Finn's birth father?"

"Yeah, the deadbeat who left him with your parents?"

"He went missing Sunday night, and yesterday they discovered a piece of bloody denim floating by the port. They ran a dna test and... well..."

"...it belonged to him," Finn finished. "The funny thing is that I don't _feel_ anything."

Bonnie frowned, "It's fine not to feel anything, Finn."

He nodded, though Bonnibel could tell he wasn't very convinced.

"It's just strange that I feel worse about the fact that I don't feel any sadness for him, than actually feeling sad about it."

"Finn, I never knew my parents. They died when Neddy and I were really young. As far as I'm concerned, Pepper is my dad. As far as you should be concerned, your parents are Jake's parents."

"I know. Still, he was my _dad_."

"I know."

Finn sighed, lifting his head up to look at Bonnie, "Let's just y'all about something else for now? Most of the school doesn't know he was my dad. Let's keep it that way, I don't want to have a pity-party following me around."

Bonnibel nodded.

She understood where he was coming from. On the odd chance that someone discovered she'd been orphaned before she could even remember, it usually ended in pitying glances and the stereotypical "I'm so sorry!"

Bonnibel knew exactly what he wanted to avoid. After all, who'd want a pity party surrounding him when he didn't even know the guy.

"It's kinda sad, I'd always thought that maybe, when I was a bit older, I'd get to actually talk with him and get to know him. I guess I never will now."

"But at least you have a super epic handsome brother!" Jake pitched in, wrapping an arm around his step-brother.

"Yeah. At least I have that."  
  


**• • •**

The rumors about the death filled the ears of everyone that day, and Bonnibel wasn't surprised in the slightest. It was a small coastal town, with half of the population only visiting for the summer before leaving their expensive condos in favor of warmer weather in the south.

The man was infamous for scamming those around him and haggling the cheapest deals out of every shopkeeper. The last time anyone remembered seeing him, he was returning to his dingy houseboat with a large pack of beer.

Right now, police were on the lookout to see if his body would turn up in the bay. Their current theory was that the man had gotten drunk and fallen over the side of his boat and into the ocean, being too intoxicated to climb out of the cold water. With the traces of blood, there was the possibility that a shark came along, but that was unlikely. There was a higher chance that he'd hit his head falling in.

The sky was clear when school let out, and the cold winds had finally let up enough so that it was a nice, bearable temperature.

When she passed by the port where most fishing boats were kept, she could see police milling about the dock. One of the boats was taped off.

Bonnibel hurried past before any of the police had the chance to see her staring.

There was a long stretch of water that followed along the sidewalk for a short while before her neighborhood, where you could see the majority of the coast-side town as the shore curved slightly.

Her gaze drifted down to the rocks, to a lump of fabric caught in the sharp gab between stone and sand.

Eyes wide, the girl dropped her bag and hopped off of the sidewalk, maneuvering the stones that had been placed in an attempt to raise the sidewalk above the wave break. Her sneakers filled with water as her feet hit the submerged sand, and her hand reached out carefully to grasp the soiled fabric.

It was a t-shirt — er, the remains of a t-shirr — torn and tattered to the point it was nothing more than scrap fabric. The smell hit her as she climbed up from the rocks, a metallic mix of saltwater and blood.

Bonnibel didn't want to think of what the bruised, rusty stain was.  


**• • •**  


Police stations were cold. Bonnie hated them.

It was as if, as soon as you stepped inside, you were the default suspect for every murder mystery in existence.

When she finally got out, it was as if a huge amount of weight was finally off of her shoulders. The police in their town were nice, though she could admit they weren't the brightest.

They'd sent her off without a second thought as soon as she gave them the fabric, excitedly rambling about sharks and aquatic mysteries.

She didn't even want to know what was going on in their heads.

Aquatic mysteries, though?

Bonnibel sighed, making her way down the street to where a bookstore sat.

It never failed to amaze her how they managed to fit so many books into such a small space. The shelves seemed to form a sort of maze, twisting around and creating an illusion of the shelves being endless.

The girl made her way to the back, climbing the stairs to the second story. The books up here were older, ones that the owner had found at estate sales or were donated through fundraisers. The majority of them were textbooks, required readings, and old books that no one every really read in the first place.

Every now and then she would find something worth more than a second glance.

The fantasy section was tucked away in a corner, where a table and chair had been set up for anyone who wanted to escape the world and read. Bonnie had found herself up here a lot when she was younger.

She scanned the shelves, searching for a particular book that she was sure she'd seen before.

_Aquatic Myths and Legends_

There.

Bonnibel pulled the book out of its shelf, holding back a cough as dust flailed out around her in a grey cloud.

She flipped through the table of contents, stopping each time she read a title that looked somewhat relevant, mentally bookmarking the said pages.

Most of the stories were the stereotype, common mermaid knowledge. They turn to seafoam when they die, their tears are pearls, their voices enchant humans, they can only love once, they kill those unlucky enough to enter their waters.

Then, she read the title of a story in the middle of the book.

_The Immortal Siren_

The story sounded like a fairy tale.

_The ocean took pity on the girl whom had been tossed overboard, and so She filled the child's lungs, allowing Her magic to enchant the child's body, twisting her feet into fins and granting her safety as long as she was in Her caring embrace. The child stopped aging, her beauty constant and eternal as the tides._

_But there was a price to pay for this gift. The child's voice became toxic, as dangerous and alluring as the Ocean. Her magic was not enough to sustain the girl's life, and so She entrusted the child with a task. Once a month, when the moon left the sky and engulfed the world in darkness, she would take a life. A single life to sustain Her magic and let the Sea live on peacefully. The life stolen would al_

The page was torn at this point. Of course it was. Bonnibel rolled her eyes, flipping the page to see if any more of the story survived the years of aging paper. She was met with a drawing.

A girl was shown sitting on a rock, staring off to sea. Long dark hair fell down her back, her tail twisting and resting in the foam that had gathered on the surface of the sea.

It scared her how similar the mermaid looked.

No... she wasn't going to let her think like that. She wasn't going insane, not yet. She had to at least have a degree in marine chemistry before she finally lost it.

Bonnie pulled out her phone, hastily googling that weekend's moon phases.

_Sunday, October 13th. New Moon._

Lovely.

Okay, so what if the moon phase matched up with the night the dude went missing. That didn't prove anything, it was just a terrible coincidence. That involved death. And possible murder.

The thought of a murderous fish-human swimming around by her house wasn't a very comforting explanation.

Bonnibel slammed the book, slipping it back into its empty shelf space and leaving the book store.

It wasn't until she was surrounded by greenery she realized where she was heading.

The one place she didn't want to be at the moment just so happened to the be only place she could go to think clearly.

The sun was setting over the water as Bonnibel kicked off her shoes, stepping onto the soft sand and making her way to the dock. Everything about this place was familiar, comforting, constant.

Everything except the water. Except for the stupid mermaid she kept convincing herself she saw. The stupid, gorgeous figure of a girl.

Oh look, Bonnibel was thinking gay thoughts again.

Mermaids were not real. Bonnie knew that.

But when the sun set completely and the singing started, Bonnibel couldn't find it in her heart to write away the figure in front of her as fiction.


	5. a simple dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> small note- most of this chapter is dialogue, and i suck at writing dialogue. pls bare with me.

**october 20th**

Bonnibel was still.

There was a girl, rising from the water.

Her skin seemed to glow in the soft light, the water around her illuminated with algae, causing her body to seem ethereal and otherworldly. Dark hair reached down her back, pooling in the salty water and sea foam.

For all Bonnibel knew, she was seeing nothing but a hallucination.

The girl turned, and Bonnie had to choke back a gasp.

Everything about her was beautiful. Her movements were fluid and intentional, as if she had an eternity. No burden of time to control and limit her actions.

Their eyes met.

Bonnibel was pulled into a sea of colors, shifting between blue, green, red, any shade that one could find throughout the oceans.

The girl seemed content, unbothered by the presence of the human.

She slowly drifted towards Bonnibel. It seemed as if the currents were guiding her, letting the beautiful creature drift through the waters with ease.

The mermaid placed a hand on the dock, pulling herself up to be face-to-face with the human, her eyes filled with a gentle curiosity.

"_You're real._"

Bonnie had officially gone insane.

She didn't have the will to care.

"As are you," the mermaid replied.

Bonnibel swallowed, suddenly aware of how dry her throat had gone. She but her lip, trying to think of something, _anything_, to say.

"It was you, the one who sung that night."

The mermaid nodded, "And you were the human who returned each night after."

Her voice was like silk. A gentle, lulling music that pulled at Bonnibel's heart. Her mind was suddenly filling with the beauty of the ocean, the darkness of its depths.

As if sensing the fact that Bonnibel had no idea what to say, the mermaid spoke once more.

"Do you have a name, by chance?"

"You're real."

"Yes, your point?"

"How... you're meant to be a fairy tale," she reached out a hand, hesitating several inches from where the mermaid sat.

The siren lifted an arm, her fingertips brushing Bonnie's before she intertwined their hands.

"I promise, I actually exist."

The siren laughed, as if the situation was simply amusing. A silly game.

Bonnie let a smile creep to her face.

She was speaking to a beautiful merperson in the middle of the night.

"It's hard to believe you aren't actually a dream, considering how the thought of you has been following me around for weeks now."

A smirk graced the face of the mermaid. Bonnibel had no time to dwell on how well it fit her features, because in the next second she felt a rush of cold as salt water flew over her head, soaking her jacket and sleeping through to her skin.

"Hey!"

"Well, now you know that you're not dreaming."

"You didn't have to splash me!"

The siren frowned, "Isn't that what people do to wake up though? I've seen fishermen do so all the time."

Bonnibel laughed, "Yeah, you're right."

She was caught completely off guard when the mermaid pulled herself up onto the dock, her tail trailing over the side and into the water. A deep, red blush spread across her cheeks as she suddenly realized that the mermaid was, in fact, wearing nothing. It wasn't surprising, really, given the fact that she was an aquatic creature.

Well, this was completely insane. She was sleep-deprived, tired. Tomorrow morning it would be as if none of this happened.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to just... talk?

If this was a dream, she might as well enjoy the simple fantasy, the "what if" while it lasted.

"So, why do you keep coming to this beach?" the siren suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you've come to this beach almost every night since I arrived at this port. That never happens."

"I'm not sure I understand."

Bonnibel found herself unable to tear her gaze away from the mermaid's eyes. The deep, constantly changing colors were mesmerizing.

"Most simply stay for a day or two, before going back to their jobs and lives on land. Even the people who live on the beach rarely visit frequently. Those who do do so for other purposes — running, work, cleaning. You don't though. You're the first one who comes to the shore simply to be by the ocean."

Bonnibel blinked, "You mean you've been watching me? Like, every night?"

"I find you interesting."

"The same could be said about you."

"How so?"

"You have a tail instead of feet."

The mermaid laughed, a bubbly sound that held the same tone of waves. Crashing on rocks and returning to the ocean in a gentle cycle.

It was beautiful.

_She_ was beautiful.

"I was right. You really are an interesting human."

There was a short pause as Bonnibel processed what she had said.

"I am?"

"Yes. Now, will you tell me your name?"

Oh. That was right. She never answered that.

"It's Bonnibel."

"And I am Marceline."

_Marceline_.

Her name was fitting. The way the mermaid has spoken it being almost melodic. Then again, everything the mermaid said seemed to be a song.

They sat in silence after that. It was funny, normally Bonnibel would've been filled with questions, desperate to run to her house and return with a journal. Asking everything she could ever want to. Not to share, of course. She wasn't stupid. If there was ever real evidence of mermaids existing, the world would capture them, conduct crude experiments, hold them captive.

It had become such a huge problem with aquatic mammals, and now those who live in captivity have lost their ability to survive on their own. For a creature of the same intellect as a human. It would be hell.

Yes, there was a reason the world thought mermaids to be myths. It had to stay like that.

Even if this was a dream, Bonnibel found herself never wanting to wake up.

She soon felt her conscious fading. She had no clue what time it was, but was all too aware that she would soon be forced to sleep.

"How will I know that this wasn't a dream?" she found herself asking.

Marceline smiled, slipping off of the dock and into the water. Bonnibel began to panic after a minute had passed, only to have her fears diminished as the familiar dark haired merperson emerged from the water.

She held out her hand.

In her palm was a necklace, a silver chain engulfing a single dark, iridescent pearl.

"When you wish to see me again, break the chain. Let the pearl fall into the ocean, and I will soon appear."

Bonnibel held out her hand, and Marceline carefully let the necklace fall into her grasp.

"I believe you already have one. It is not as powerful, but I will be able to see it from these waters."

The human nodded, gently clutching the chained pearl in her hands.

"It was nice to finally meet you, Bonnibel," the mermaid spoke, "I hope to eventually do so again."

And with that, just as quietly as the tide receding, the mermaid was gone.

The next morning, Bonnibel found herself pulled out of her gentle embrace of sleep by a blaring alarm, reminding her that school existed.

Her hand flew to her neck, where a small necklace now resided, and despite how dreadfully tired the girl was, she smiled.

She couldn't wait to see Marceline again.

She smiled to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the past few days it's been raining a lot, and so i've been finding myself sitting by a window overlooking the ocean and drinking coffee, which is like the perfect writing place. the result is this fanfic and my mom texting me saying i'm spending too much money on starbucks.
> 
> haha yeah i love going to school on an island. hopefully a mermaid shows up and drowns me soon so i don't have to take my math midterm.


	6. black pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnibel wonders about her pearl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is rly short sryyy, the next one should be much longer but i couldn't really think of much to add in here

**october 21st**   
  
  


**School seemed to stretch on forever. **Halfway through the day the sky clouded over, bringing back the typical cold weather and dropping rain all over the coastal town. The entire time Bonnibel was distracted, unable to focus on school and constantly finding her thoughts drifting back to the sea.

_Marceline_.

Her name haunted her thoughts. Even unspoken it seemed to hold the same melodic tune.

"Okay. What is up with you today?" Finn suddenly asked, snapping Bonnibel from her mermaid-filled thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

"You aren't doing your chemistry work. You _love_ chemistry."

Oh. Right. She was in class.

She glanced downwards, and as Finn had pointed out, there was her chemistry worksheet. Completely blank.

"I guess I'm just tired, I stayed up really late last night and the caffeine must be wearing off."

"Please, you stay up really late pretty much every night. Remember? You once texted me at 3 AM asking if I knew Simon's email so that you could turn in that paper four weeks early?"

"Okay, I see your point."

Finn grinned, and it was at that moment Bonnie finally realized that the seat next to him was empty.

"Wait, where is Jake?"

"He tried to eat this 'everything burrito' he made last night and got sick," he explained, "you're just now noticing his absence?"

"I guess I really am out of it, huh?"

"Dude, just tell us what's on your mind?"

Bonnibel took a second to think, trying to find a way to phrase her words in a way that wouldn't give anything away.

"Hey, you and Bea are into those mystery dramas, right? Wasn't there an episode about magic pearls?"

"Mostly Bea, but yeah. Why?"

"I found a black pearl on the beach."

"What the glob? And you're only just now telling me?" Finn leaned over the desk, his eyes wide, "They're like, the rarest of the rare! Can I see it?"

"No, why on earth would I bring it to school? Can you tell me what it does?"

Finn bit his lip, "They're meant to grant protection from negative magic or something like that. The episode made them seem very rare and mythical."

"So you don't actually know?"

"No, sorry."  
  
  
  


**• • •**   
  
  
  


The sun had set when she returned to the beach. Bonnibel had sat at her desk, intent on studying for a test. Needless to say she couldn't focus one bit.

And so, she found herself standing in the damp sand, making her way carefully to the end of the dock. It took every ounce of her willpower not to burst into a full-out sprint to the water.

She reached into her pocket, her hand landing on the small, black pearl she had found one night.

It had to be what Marceline had meant, a weaker power than the necklace. So, she took one last glance at the precious gem, and tossed it into the water.

Almost instantaneously, the area turned a vibrant glowing blue. At first she thought it was simply a reaction of the bioluminescence in the water. When the light refused to fade, she realized that it was, in fact, the pearl. It seemed to clear the water surrounding it, emitting a shining light as it sunk to the bottom of the bay.

As the light faded, a face appeared.

"Marceline."

"Bonnibel."

The way she said her name made her heart flutter.

"You actually came."

"I said I would."

Bonnibel let a smile creep onto her face.

Marceline pulled herself up onto the deck, "You know, when I gave you the pearls I was thinking you'd use them for some great moment of need, like how the heroes in great legends would always do."

"I'm afraid I'm not very heroic."

The mermaid let herself fall down to the dock, staring at the cloudy sky. A few stars were peaking out through the haze.

"Everyone's heroic in some way," Marceline spoke softly. Bonnie looked her way questioningly, and so she continued, "Even the simplest of actions can be heroic. Sometimes even the horrendous ones. Sometimes those deemed as 'evil' and 'monstrous' have heroic results derived from their actions."

"What are you talking about?"

Marceline rolled her eyes, "It means you _are_ heroic, you big goof."

If Bonnibel was going to reply, her chance was cut off.

Marceline slipped back into the water gracefully, "It's been fun chilling with you, but I've gotta zip. Places to go, things to do, etc. etc."

Bonnie couldn't tell if her sudden 'meme' way of speaking was meant to mean anything or not.

"Wait, but when will I see you again?"

The mermaid smiled, "I'll return before the week is over. I promise."

And, just as quickly as she'd appeared, Marceline vanished into the darkness.  
  
  


**• • •**   
  
  
  


There was a large, sunken vessel of some kind maybe a mile off-shore. The hull was busted, the nearby rock formations leaving little to no imagination left on what exactly had happened.

It was here that Marceline had decided to store her small collection of human things. A waterproof map she'd snagged off of some seaside junk shop's window display, a book about modern-day real estate a human had fallen asleep reading on the beach, a box of strawberries that she'd managed to trap in an air bubble.

That was the one human food she found she couldn't extinguish her love for.

The book was falling apart at this point, but that was fine. She'd read all she needed to know.

Her plan was slowly coming together. The thought filled her with a giddy excitement.

There was a method to her madness. Sure, it often led to the untimely demise of so many of her kind, but she was different.

She was the first. She was smarter, that had to be the reason she had survived this long in the first place. She'd turned 1000 only a few years ago. It was around time she actually did something with her eternal life.

Marceline let her body rest on the sandy floor of the sunken ship, unfolding the map with a smile on her face. There was a city nearby — Ooo. The town she was currently by was known as Sugar Beach.

Funny name. It seemed a fitting place for Bonnibel to live.

Her eyes scanned over the state map. The state was mostly along the coast, which meant easy access to the water.

Marceline smiled.

_This was going to be so much fun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i made a playlist of songs i listen to while writing this, if that interests anyone
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9O4ncZevU3h64GHn4q60Nnh9QG1e3eWP


	7. human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> marceline ventures to land.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for another short chapter! i have a basic outline for how i want this fic to play out, but the beginning has been v iffy. hopefully it starts to pick up plot-wise in the next few chapters

**october 22**

**The sky was dark.** Puddles of water had made the old dock slick and unsafe. Marceline held the large black t-shirt out in front of her.

It had some weird design of a snake being stabbed.

Cool.

It looked like humans really had evolved since she last ventured onto land. Her gaze flickered through the shrubbery she was currently residing inside. She lifted her tail carefully out of the water, allowing her tail to split in two. She put the large shirt on, pulling the pair of shorts she'd snagged on afterwards. She looked like a normal human now. Well... except for the fact that she had no shoes and had little to no way of understanding their culture.

She had a plastic bag full of pearls. She'd made sure to collect enough for them to have at least _some_ value.

Heck, she should've questioned Bonnibel before coming ashore.

It was too late for backing out now, though.

She was currently on the shore of Ooo City, a major port on this side of the ocean. This would be simple, it wasn't like a century ago, where people commonly thought of mermaids as fact, and wouldn't hesitate to capture an "insane" woman wandering around the city and stuff her in a... what was that word? Asylum?

Marceline pulled herself to her feet, wincing at how the rough rocks felt on her skin.

It suddenly occurred to her that hair this long would definitely get in the way with the way the wind was. She pulled the draw string from her shorts, pulling her hair up as she had seen so many humans do before, and tied a knot, keeping her hair up off her neck.

There. Normal human.

She tried to ignore the weird looks she got from walking out of the seaside shrubbery onto the sidewalk, soaking wet and barefoot. Yeah, she definitely looked insane.

Hopefully her hair would dry quickly.

There had to be a pawn shop nearby. Where else would people get all of their useless junk?

It was surprising to her that, once she had entered an area with more people, no one paid her a second glance.

Humans were weird.

The pawn shop was surprisingly easy to find. Possibly due to the large, faded neon sign in the front that said "YOU HAVE JUNK? WE WILL BUY!"

A bell rung out through the small shop, and Marceline was hit with the sudden smell of mildew and dust. She tried not to cringe at how greasy the tile floor felt under her feet. Other than the over-the-top advertising and the shady state of cleanliness, Marceline was surprised at how nice the shop actually was. It looked more like a small antique shop than anything else.

The counter with a huge "SELL HERE" sign was tucked away in the back of the shop, where an old woman was busying herself with writing down... _something_.

She placed the bag of pearls onto the counter.

"Do you know how much these are worth?"  
  


**• • •**   
  
  


The small backpack that the old woman had given her hung heavily in her shoulder, weighed down by the several wads of green paper she'd traded the pearls for. Marceline couldn't see exactly why the green paper ran everything on land, it would be much easier to just trade things.

She found a pair of shoes at a junk shop, the rubber flip flops giving her feet a layer of protection that she hadn't realized she needed.

Her feet were killing her, she couldn't imagine how people did this daily. She already missed her tail.

She needed a place to live.

The bus was mostly empty when she got on, handing the driver a five dollar bill without a second thought, and heading to the back of the vehicle.

If the signs were correct, this would take her to Sugar Beach. The place she needed to go.

When the bus started, Marceline found her nails digging into the seat, her eyes wide as she tried to force her body to calm down. This was a human invention, it shouldn't hurt her. She found herself staring out the window, watching the ocean pass by. It was beautiful.

Marceline was so mesmerized that she didn't realize they'd arrived at Sugar Beach until the bus suddenly jerked into a stop. She stood, making her way off of the bus and onto the street of the small town.

There wasn't nearly as many people here.

She immediately made her way to the ocean, where bits of foam had started to build up between the rocks. Marceline reached into the water, pulling out a pack of papers and legal info, forged from the foam by the ocean.

There was a group of apartments not far from Bonnibel's beach that she'd seen from the sea. It rested right on the water.

If she followed the water, she'd come across it. And so that was exactly what she did.

When she'd arrived, the man at the front desk was hesitant to give her the keys. His mind was changed with a simple song. She gave him the money, he processed her ownership on the computer, and she was checked into the apartment 107.

It was one on the very far end of the hall, with a balcony overlooking the water and a window that gave her a great view of the trees that surrounded pretty much every building she'd seen around this area.

The apartment was filled with typical beach furniture. That made sense, considering the fact that these apartments doubled as condos throughout the summer. If they decided to raise the prince, she could always obtain more pearls and sell them. Or maybe she could bring up some gold from that one shipwreck?

It didn't really matter now. If worse comes to worse, she could always just enchant the workers.

She set her backpack on the floor, letting the door fall shut behind her.

It was small, with a window stretching across one side of the room, above the sofa, and a half-wall separating the living area from the kitchen. She could see a glass sliding door open onto a small deck, with the tiny kitchen's window looking out over the sea.

There was a door in between the kitchen and living room. She assumed it led to the bedroom.

She was acting like a real human now!

Now she only needed a phone and laptop.

This was going to be amazing.


	8. land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a new girl appears in bonnibel's class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look, a somewhat long chapter.

**october 23**   
  


**The next few days passed at an achingly slow pace.** Bonnibel found that she couldn't focus, her mind constantly stuck in a place far away. Probably at the bottom of the sea with Marceline. That thought was entertaining.

A mermaid.

She couldn't seem to get over how odd it sounded.

Bonnibel was called into the front office Wednesday morning during first period. A new student had apparently been registered. Rumors spread quickly here, considering the school had around 300 kids all together.

Everyone would know the new girl's name before the day was over.

She entered the office and froze.

"Ah, Bonnibel," the principal, a crabby old man with the last name of Lemongrab, said, "this is Marceline Abadeer. She'll be joining you in your classes from here on out. Show her around the school, won't you?"

When the two of them exited the office, she turned back to face the girl.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Marceline simply looked at her with innocent, clueless eyes, "Hm?"

"How do you— You have _legs_," Bonnibel stated as calmly as she could.

"Yes. I do."

"Wh—"

"I decided to venture onto land. Learn about humans and how they evolved."

Bonnibel pursed her lips, "I'm pretty sure there's a million unspoken points on how that's a terrible idea. Isn't there a fairytale that specifically states that mermaids who venture onto land _die_?"

"That's only when they venture to land for unrequited love."

Bonnibel wanted to scream. She wanted to grab the mermaid by the ear and drag her right back into the ocean. She wanted to stand here and rant about how idiotic this was, how she'd be found out and experimented on like some Guinée pig.

She didn't though.

God only knows what would happen if she threw a tantrum in the middle of a school hallway.

Bonnibel sighed, "Fine. But if something happens, give me one reason to think you might be discovered, and I will make sure you're back in the water before the day is over."

"You took very little convincing."

"Shut up."

The two of them made their way down the hallway, and Bonnibel was suddenly very aware of how tall Marceline looked on land.

That was to be expected, Bonnibel told herself, her tail had been transformed into legs. Really, _really_ long legs. Her frame looked even more thin and skeletal when she was standing parallel to herself.

Her clothing didn't suite her, though. An old rock t-shirt for a band she couldn't name, and cotton shorts. They looked like something someone would steal from a house boat's laundry line. Bonnibel had a feeling that was along the lines of where she'd obtained them.

"Where did you even get your clothing?"

"A fishing boat."

She knew it.

"Do you own anything else?"

"No. Why would I need to?"

"After school I'm taking you to get actual clothes. No one in their right mind wears the same outfit every day."

She tried to ignore how confused Marceline looked by that statement.

When they entered the classroom, everyone turned to stare. She spotted Finn and Jake giving a quizzical look.

She'd be interrogated later.

Bonnibel dragged Marceline to the teacher, who added the mermaid's name to the class roster.

"Abadeer?" the teacher asked, "Isn't that the name of an old European king?"

"Yes."

Bonnibel pushed back the questions that tugged at the back of her throat, taking Marceline's hand and leading her to a seat near the middle of the classroom. She sat in the seat next to her, suddenly all too aware that Marceline had no backpack. No notebooks, pencils, etc.

Biting her lip, Bonnibel reached into her backpack, pulling out her music notebook — which she'd only used once that year — and casually placed it on Marceline's desk with one of her spare pencils.

She prayed no one would notice.

Marceline's confused look terrified her.

And so, Bonnibel plastered a sweet, fake smile onto her face, gently gestured towards the front board, where the teacher had set up a projector with a bunch of useless ELA vocab that Bonnibel already knew. She slowly brought down the tip of her pencil and started copying down notes, hoping Marceline got the message.

When she looked back at her, she had to resist letting out a sigh of relief when Marceline was writing down what was on the powerpoint's slide.

The rest of the lesson was filled with stressful glances back at the mermaid.

When the bell rang out through the classroom, she quickly took Marceline's notebook and placed it back into her backpack, taking the mermaid's hand and leading her out of the classroom before all of the other students.

"Bubblegum!" she heard a boy shout from behind her, and she held back the stream of curses that threatened to escape her lips.

"Hello, Finn."

"Aren't you gonna introduce us to the new girl?" he asked, his optimistic attitude threatening to break the dam she'd managed to building in her vocal chords.

Marceline pushed past her, holding out a hand in greeting, "The name's Marceline. Nice to meet you, Finn."

"_Mathmatical!_" the boy shouted, "It's been so long since we got a new student here!"

Marceline let out a laugh, and Bonnibel had to try so desperately to ignore the squirming in her stomach that screamed at the other girl to _stop_.

Jake approached the two of them, "So Bubblegum, who's your new friend."

"This is Marceline."

"I just moved here, I'm not sure how long I'm staying though."

Jake frowned, "I guess we'll just have to find a way to make your time here so epic that you can't leave."

"Right, well," Bonnibel cut in, "we really need to get to our next class. Check in with teachers, all of that."

"Oh, yeah. See you around, Marceline."

Bonnibel led the mermaid away from her friends, down the hall to the math area.

Math. Great. Lots of people hated math, maybe this would be enough to convince the mermaid to return to the sea — _away_ from humans and the danger she seemed so intent on forcing herself into.

"Come on, this teacher hates it when students are late."

"Whatever you say, Bubblegum."

Bonnibel froze, "What?"

"Bubblegum, it's what that blonde kid called you?"

The pink haired girl laughed, "Oh, that started as a joke. I proffer being called Bonnibel, but they seem to think it's funny to call me that as long as I have pink hair."

"Fine. Bonnie then."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'll call you Bonnie if you don't want me to call you Bubblegum. Bonnibel is too formal."

"I didn't realize mermaids had such an opposition to normal names."  
  


**• • •**   
  


Marceline was having a blast.

It had been so long since she last interacted with this many humans. Everything around her was new, foreign.

A bell rang out, and Bonnibel stole her notebook back once again.

"So, Bonnie," Marceline began enjoying the way Bonnibel's face seemed to flush at the nickname, "what's next?"

"Chemistry."

"_Mathmatical_."

"Please never say that again."

Marceline laughed, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face. Gravity was so much more prominent on land. It was kind of annoying.

Bonnibel pushed open a classroom door, and Marceline entered.

Her breath hitched in her throat.

It wasn't him. He was dead.

She'd been there to witness his death first hand.

Bonnibel must've sensed something was wrong, because a gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present.

It was pitiful, it's been almost a thousand years, yet the pain was suddenly so raw, so fresh.

"This is Simon Petrikov, he's the school's chemistry and music teacher. Also the best teacher here."

Marceline pulled up a smile, reaching a hand out in greeting.

He said something, though Marceline couldn't process what.

_Simon_.

He even had the same name.

The universe really was cruel, wasn't it.

"Hey, are you okay?"

She hadn't even realized that Bonnibel had brought her to a table.

Marceline nodded, "Yeah. Sorry."

_Liar_.

She was fine.

_Liar_.

Her hands wouldn't stop shaking. That was troublesome.

_An empty trial room, the thunderous voice of a king._

It wasn't him.

_A limp body being thrown into the ocean._

He was dead.

_Dark waters filling her lungs._

A thousand years had passed since then.

The Simon she knew was dead and gone, and he was never coming back.  
  


**• • •**   
  
  


"What about this?" Bonnibel asked, holding up a black tank top with the white outline on a mermaid printed onto it.

"Isn't that kind of ironic?"

"That's sort of the point," Bonnie replied, folding the shirt and setting it back down onto its stack. "Okay, but seriously. Is there any other clothes you see that you'd like?"

"I'm pretty sure this is more than enough."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Marceline. You can't survive with only a single pair of jeans, sneakers, and two t-shirts."

The mermaid sighed, reaching out to a random rack of clothing and pulling out several pairs of t-shirts, shorts, and jeans, tossing them into the basket Bonnie was carrying.

"There. That's enough."

"Only black and flannel?" Bonnie asked, "Are you sure you don't want anything else?"

"Positive. Can we leave yet?"

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

Marceline held out her arm, where the dry skin had begun to slowly crack and peel.

"Right. Let me just pay and we can leave."

The siren nodded, reaching into the pockets of her shorts and bringing out a wad of $20 bills.

"Were you wandering around school with all of that money in your pocket?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, you're going to need to learn how to _not_ do that."

Bonnibel took the money and headed to the front of the small clothing store, leaving Marceline to linger with her own thoughts.

A large, low rumble shook throughout the air, and Marceline looked out to see that it had started to rain.

"Aw, what the stuff," she heard a familiar voice call from behind her. Bonnibel appeared, holding a paper bag filled with Marceline's clothing. "The one day I don't bring an umbrella to school and it starts pouring."

"Come on, a little water won't hurt."

"Easy for you to say."

The two of them exited the shop, standing under the small roof that extended over the sidewalk.

"Glob, my house is a ten minute walk from here," Bonnie complained, "which means all of my school work being soaked by the time I'm home."

"Hey, chill," Marceline smiled, taking the pinkette's hand, "lets just look at these human shops for a while, and if it doesn't let up my _apartment_ isn't far."

"Your apartment?" the human questioned.

"Yes, I may or may not have acquired a home to use while I play at being human."

Bonnie took in a sharp breath, "It's getting late. I'd rather go straight back home as soon as possible."

"Awe."

"Stop complaining. Besides, I'm not going to let you just donk around without doing actual schoolwork."

**• • •**   
  


It turned out Marceline's apartment wasn't that far from the shops. The building was actually one Bonnibel recognized. It was known to house tourists throughout the summer months.

"How were you even able to afford this?"

"_Mermaid_, remember?"

"Hm."

It thundered again, and Marceline spared no time in unlocking one of the doors and letting Bonnie in.

Yeah, this was definitely one of the tourist condos.

Bonnie sent a quick text to her uncle, telling him where she was going to be.

She heard Marceline pulling open the balcony's door, "I hope you know that this storm isn't going to pass any time soon."

Bonnie shivered at the sudden gust of cold air, "How would you know that?"

"Mermaid."

"Right." Bonnibel looked into the bag of clothes, heading towards the one inside door in the apartment, "I'm going to put away your clothes. You should get changed soon. I don't even want to know how long you've been wearing that same outfit."

"Only two days."

"Get changed."

"_Fine_."

Bonnibel fought back a blush as Marceline casually pulled off her t-shirt as she headed into the bedroom.

Mermaids. Yay.

"Hey Bonnie, what do I do with the old clothing?"

"Just leave it by the door, I'll take it to be washed and get it back to you."

"If you're gonna take it don't bother returning them, it's too much effort."

"Whatever you say."

Marceline paused as she exited the bedroom, setting the pile of worn, ragged clothes on the floor. It reminded Bonnibel of how a sim would act, not knowing what to do with an object and instead just leaving it.

"I'm gonna go back to the ocean. Are you going to wait here?"

"I'll wait as long as you want, I'm probably going to be doing homework until the rain clears up enough."

And so, Marceline returned to the sea.

It wasn't until late at night when she appeared in the kitchen doorway did she see that Bonnibel was still there, sleeping silently on her sofa.


End file.
